Billions on Showtime, Season 4 Episode 11: Lamster

I admit I have looked up the dictionary for this week’s episode title Lamster. And as I was thinking that the lamster is probably Bryan’s brother Jackie, it turns out to be Chuck Senior of all people!

Chuck Senior, whose wife is enjoying weather and shopping in Palm Beach, is the new Dollar Bill – two families – with Roxanne and little Bess staying with him in his apartment. And who knew the dad had as rich a fantasy life as the son? 😀 Thanks to a “hide-and-seek” followed by drugs and sex, Senior discovers he is bugged and knocks on Chuck’s door in the wee hours.

While his dad tells him he discovered the bug while making a home repair, Chuck can imagine what was going on in the apartment. As they have a division of labor where Senior should become Whitey Bulger, and even better, D.B. Cooper, and Junior should speed things on Jeffcoat, Junior realizes if they have a bug permit on his dad, they may have a bug permit on him, too! Senior will now literally play “hide-and-seek” with the Feds and use a burner to let his son know he is fine every 8 hour.

Chuck gets his own burner out, goes into the bathroom, turns on all the faucets, and calls the people who owe to him: Eisen for his family, Halloran for his bankroll, and Brogan for his security. He meets the three musketeers at the hospital where Ira is waiting for Taiga giving birth to their first child. And he tasks them with finding everything they can between Jock Jeffcoat and Trent Fiske, the CEO of Bougle-Tek, a major voting equipment company. Chuck already knows Jeffcoat’s  hatred for mobile voting has something to do with corruption, but now they have to find out what corruption it is exactly.

And what will Chuck do as the others go after Fiske?

“I myself will be doing my usual boogie – inducing mistakes through temptation, misdirection, obfuscation, conflation/corruption of the ideals that built this great nation. For good and noble purpose of course.”

Of course! 😀

Realizing that the shit train was just the tip of the iceberg, Jeffcoat tells Bryan to find Senior’s “wrinkly fucking ass” and is quite surprised by the response:

“Uh, I saw it once. And, actually, the old guy keeps it together.”

Remember? 😀

Besides, Jeffcoat is quite surprised Bryan has no idea about Carencia. Well, General, Bryan is not into Spain as he is into Japan after all. Carencia is the place in the ring where the bull feels safe and it is the matador’s job to keep it away from Carencia! So Bryan the matador should find the lamster who has recently used his credit card at a gas station on New York State Thruway and make him sing!

Axe and Rebecca are looking to buy a household appliance company to ensure Saler’s independence from Kling which Taylor controls now. And over lunch at The Lobster Club, they convince the CEO of Pearlsang appliances to make the factory up its production by 20%. It is fascinating that where Rebecca sees a premium payment for a mediocre company Axe sees a very good enemy that has made him compromise. Rebecca may not be that off when she calls Axe a “sick twist.”

Taylor, who reminds TMC employees about the comp day, has a non-traditional incentive structure in mind. They will not have meetings to force each employee to make a case for their value to the firm because the numbers tell it all. But they will pay the employees their bonuses in full only if they keep the money at the fund for 12 months. If an employee wants to be paid right away then they will be paid 60 cent out of a dollar.

Axe takes a private meeting in the kitchens of The Lobster Club with Chuck the fixer who needs Hall the ultimate fixer  to unlock the biometric lock in Senior’s apartment! Axe does not shy away from reminding Chuck that he needs to put Taylor in a fucking cell for him as soon as possible and if Chuck thinks this business is not personal enough for him, Axe is happy to make it so! But yeah he is still willing to help Chuck so he does not end up in wearing the orange jumpsuit before Taylor does.

The most interesting part of their conversation though is the words spoken about Wendy who is about to go into her medical board hearing. It turns out she did not want either Chuck, the AG who may seem to try to influence things, or Axe, the boss who may seem like the person that told Wendy to do the stuff she is accused of — at the hearing. And while Chuck thinks Wendy may be better off without them, Axe disagrees:

“Yeah. For today. For a few hours anyway. And maybe still not.”

Seriously, Axe? You two are the reason why Wendy is taking her seat at the medical board hearing. And, man, does she ROCK it or what?

I KNEW IT! I said in last week’s recap that while I obviously did not know what Wendy would do at the hearing, if there was one person in Billions who had the balls to admit their wrongdoing and bravely face the consequences, it would be Wendy! LOVE YOU, GIRL! And, yes, in caps, too!

Wendy tells the board she is a medical doctor and Taylor was her patient, and that she violated doctor – patient confidentiality for her own ends. Doing this, Wendy does not only feel good about herself and steals my heart all over again but she also protects the company. Because she is a medical doctor, all her previous sessions with employees count as confidential and she cannot be subpoenaed. Yet, now that she is not a licensed doctor anymore, how will the sessions with employees work from this day on?

Wags, who operates as Wendy’s professional cuddler these days, is right that the fucked up Axe Capital employees will always need her as a coach and as a human being at the company, but can they still confide in her the way they used to?

Chuck is not the only person after the Krakow contract. Jackie does not want to take the job because Bryan is one of the two things he is proud of in his life — the other one is when he cropdusted a pedophile priest — and this safe cracking business could jeopardize his career. But Bryan is confident his “Bill Belichik” of a brother — a compliment Jackie does not like — will do it right. And since the timeline is tight “long stick goes boom” tonight 😀

The deal Axe and Rebecca have made with Pearlsang is dead only a few hours later thanks to Cook, Taylor’s Hall, who leaks to the press information about Pearlsang’s “child labor” practices. Temple of Doom indeed. And Rebecca, who used to go from one profitable deal to another until teaming up with Axe, is obviously frustrated. She holds Axe responsible and looks at him to save, in Axe’s words, her “Barbie fucking dream house.” It turns out there is another household appliance company, Cardinale, they can buy. But Saler’s has no cash readily available and since there is now one fewer rival, Cardinale’s price will go up! Ken agrees to buy Cardinale for Barbie. But he first needs to free up five billion dollars.

Axe asks Dollar Bill to get out of their position in Corwell Pharmaceuticals which the latter sees as his stock pick of the year (big thanks go to Lady Trader for translating this for me!). Bill is adamant to protect the position with the most vulgar analogy of the year that even Axe, who uses “fuck” at least once in every other sentence, considers washing Bill’s mouth out with soap:

“Pimp 101: You don’t sell your best girl till she loses her hip flexion.”

While he does not approve the analogy, Ben Kim, who breaks in hives when he lies, admits to Bill that Axe is making a mistake getting out of Corwell Pharmaceuticals. But can they stop Axe from doing this?

When they get the news about Wendy, Taylor does not want any celebration. Wendy did the right thing and everyone should move on. But Taylor obviously knows the conversation they had with Wendy has contributed to what Wendy shared with the medical board and understands why she did it.

On the other hand, Chuck does not understand why Wendy did what she did when there existed a better option. Wendy turns his offer to open a bottle because she does not want to risk turning her evening into a Cassavetes movie full of drinking and yelling. It will probably  be a long night for her digesting the fact that she is no longer Dr. Rhoades and for Chuck fixing the problems so he can stay as State AG Rhoades.

It takes a magnet (for the building door),  a manicure set (for the apartment door) and Bryan’s connections in the FBI (for the apartment’s alarm system) for the Connerty brothers to get into Senior’s apartment and a few more minutes for Jackie to locate the safe. I honestly did not know one could take a copy of the safe owner’s fingerprint and use it to unlock the biometric lock.  And lo and behold, Bryan has a photo of the contract and Jackie has the cufflinks! Well, Jackie warned his baby brother earlier that he would not leave without taking something — almost like a souvenir. And it keeps me wondering: (i) Does Hall understand someone was there before him or does he think the painting does not hang properly thanks to Senior and Roxanne messing around? (ii) Could the cufflinks somehow come back and bite Bryan in the ass in the season finale or later?

Chuck’s musketeers are back at the hospital in the early morning. It turns out Jeffcoat is giving a shocker — the hand gesture one — to all Americans: He is landing government contracts for Fiske’s voting equipment company as well as protecting him from investigation while Fiske pays him back in an unorthodox way: Rigged elections: Two governors already and one senate election in Texas coming up! And while nobody will come forward as a witness, the raw vote totals are certified and buried. They are there waiting for someone to take a good look…

…enters Kate. Would Sade’s “Smooth Operator” help Chuck by digging into the raw vote totals in the allegedly rigged elections? Seeing Kate wearing the lapel pin Chuck gave him at the hospital in her meeting with Jock hints to me she is on Chuck’s side. And sharing Chuck’s phone call and their conversation with Jock can definitely make it easier for her to go under the radar. And her request to become the Head of Civil Rights Division? Probably the best place to dig deep into the elections.

As Kate is holding the lapel pin in her hand in Bryan’s office, a phone call brings news that the FBI found Chuck Senior by following Roxanne whom they linked to him through the college fund set up for Chuck’s little sister! And Kate is wearing her lapel pin as Bryan is leaving to see Senior.

“Good luck finishing off The Rhoadeses.”

Bryan has become a teacher’s pet this season. In Kate I trust as the one with the balls who will take down Jeffcoat — not just to help Chuck but also, and more importantly, to ensure elections are clean across the country.

Axe arrives in the office to close the deal on Cardinale only to find a protest in his office. Spyros talks about the deal being very risky, Bach talks about by-laws, Ben Kim talks about the opportunity cost, Wags talks about Axe having no financial stake in Rebecca’s noble cause and Bill suggests Axe should tell their investors that he has been p-whipped. But Tatanka has an ego the size of a tatanka— a Sioux word I know thanks to Dances with Wolves — that he has no intention to back down. Spyros will modify the risk model, Bach should paper the new by-laws, the positions are all his and the PMs who talk about not being able to pick up returns should go fuck themselves. Axe finishes with a megalomaniacal statement:

“I am the sun that warms you and the air you fucking breathe. Don’t forget that.”

WHOA.  It is official, Bobby Axelrod has God Complex and he is the  Sun God, king of the gods obviously 🙂

Wendy, who dismisses Spyros earlier in the day because he was talking about a non-existing problem — can you imagine Spyros holding office hours? — to make her feel good about herself, is now dismissing Wags for being an even worse actor than Spyros! But when Wags talks about Axe being in the Colonel Kurtz territory (Apocalype Now, anyone?) he means it.

“This isn’t a fire drill. It’s the Fyre Festival.”

Wendy diagnoses the situation right; however she is not able to stop the biggest festival flop from happening, either!

“You need an enemy. Or you think you do. Like without that gravitational pull, you’ll go flying off into nothingness. No edge, no drive, no Axe.”

Axe, who, exactly like Chuck, cannot understand why Wendy voluntarily let her medical license go, does not even listen to her. He thinks the two of them are built differently and revenge may not work for Wendy’s system, but does for Axe. Based on experience, Wendy knows that the exact time Axe fucks up is when he narrows his whole gaze to retribution. And she does not even have to say that. We all know about Ice Juice, don’t we?

At Taylor Mason Capital, despite Winston’s long monologue about Taylor using hedge-fund social pressure on them, taking their employees for granted and what not, all employees end up in deferring their bonuses. The only person who will be paid right away is Lauren because she likes Taylor too much to be there if they broke up with her. Cute! And I bet she gets her full bonus 🙂

It is ultimately Rebecca that saves Axe from committing a professional suicide. It turns out Taylor has reached out to Rebecca with a white flag in hand. They offer to supply the household appliances to Saler’s at the old rates and also agree to Rebecca’s deal that the latter will have control of Kling, but will not buy Taylor out so they will have stakes in Saler’s future well being. Rebecca is now grateful for Axe’s help but does not need him to buy her Heart of the Ocean anymore.

I think Axe is right that Rebecca has not cut a deal with Taylor just to keep Barbie and Ken together but also, and maybe more, for her company. But wasn’t it Axe himself who said Taylor Mason was so good earlier in the episode? 😀

We witness first hand the exact moment Axe narrows his whole gaze to retribution!

“You also let my arch fucking foe off the hook.”

Well, Bobby Axelrod values loyalty above all and I am not sure what Ken thinks of Barbie’s loyalty to him at the moment.

And why has Taylor reached out to Rebecca? Because they think Rebecca will be their shield in business? Because Axe is committed to Rebecca he would never attack someone whose interests are aligned with his girlfriend? OH MY GOD. Then neither Taylor nor Sara who believes Taylor ended the war with “mastery” really know Bobby Axelrod.

Similarly, Jeffcoat does not know Chuck Senior. As soon as he lets Senior know he does not want either Senior or Junior to get arrested, but the only thing he wants is to break Junior, he gets his answer:

“Where you come from, maybe you sell your progeny because there’s not enough polk salad to feed all the little mouths.”

Neither carrots nor sticks can make Chuck Senior say a thing that would hurt his boy. And, moreover, he does not buy Jock’s Prisoner’s Dilemma bullshit when the AG tells him — upon request by Bryan — the man who helped him get the land rights aka “the idiot” is in the next room singing like Hank Williams the elder about Senior’s cheating heart.

When they cannot go further with Senior, Jeffcoat and Bryan regroup. And Jeffcoat knows what the Lord wants them to do as soon as Bryan explains they have the information about “the idiot” on the tape recording but they are not allowed to listen to those parts:

“The Lord doesn’t put knowledge before us so that we remain ignorant.”

Well, according to Jeffcoat, and I guess late President Nixon would agree, if he orders it, it is fucking legal.

Seeing Ira with Taiga and their little baby — yes, folks, this is NYC where people need to start planning pre-school the day a baby is born! — should make it inevitable for Chuck to think about his marriage and possible new beginnings. Chuck now knows Wendy does not want him as a package. We saw him not remembering the moment he knew when he needed to marry Wendy in the previous episode. We have heard him telling Axe Wendy might be better off without them earlier in this episode. And now this… God forbid may Chuck be thinking about a new beginning for himself? A life without Wendy?

While I hope Chuck and Wendy can start a new chapter together, I suspect Axe and Rebecca will not be an item by the end of the season.

Victor, who wants to have his own shop again, finds something that would work for Axe Capital but not so much for Rebecca: The only hint is that Saler’s now has a place to put their toxic debt (loans with a low chance of being repaid with interest) to and we all know what this place is. Axe is coming for Taylor. And when Wags asks about whether the potential collateral damage (read Rebecca) is worth it, Axe’s answer is clear. He would not still be wearing his armor if it was not. WHOA.

As he plans his next move, knowing he has done wrong with Wendy earlier in the day, Axe sends Wags to Daniel in order to get drunk with the only woman he has ever enjoyed drinking with.

“Two Carte Blanches.”

And Wendy, who has chosen not to open the bottle with Chuck is ready to get properly drunk with Wags. Hmmm. No, I am not implying anything romantic. It is just that Wendy seems to feel closer to Wags than to Chuck.

As Dave Haus’ Saboteurs closes the episode, who do you think will be the saboteurs and who will get sabotaged in the season finale? One thing I know is that it will be explosive!

Author: Damianista

Academic, Traveler, Blogger, Runner, Theatre Lover, Wine Snob, Part-time New Yorker, and Walking Damian Lewis Encyclopedia :D Procrastinated about a fan's diary on Damian Lewis for a while and the rest is history!

25 thoughts on “Billions on Showtime, Season 4 Episode 11: Lamster”

  1. Great as always!
    You may want to link Polk Salad, something I just looked up now, because it had to mean something, right?
    Google says:
    “The “polk” spelling was popularized by a 1968 country/pop song by Tony Joe White called “Polk Salad Annie.” The term “sallet” is of French origin and refers to a mess of greens cooked until tender. For example, cooked spinach could be referred to as a sallet, but raw spinach would be called a salad.”
    Pokeweed is eaten by, likely, bayou folk down south (thus the french connection)…so I guess polk salad is a food for poor people?

    Re the ending. The scene moving to Wendy had me thinking that the bad debt would somehow land in her lap (either directly or via chuck)? After losing her license, she’d lose Axe too (by him betraying her)? On rewatch, I see that you’re probably right, that it’s Taylor’s piece of the pie that will be absorbing the bad debt. But, on the other hand that seems way too obvious. Wags says “collateral damage” like someone close to Axe will be hurt. And Victor also said as much. Which could be Rebecca, as you say, but it could also be Wendy since the scene switched to her….Wags easing her troubles with libations, not only for what she had to give up that day (her license) but for what she will be giving up in the future. “We will toast the comrades who have fallen and who yet may fall.” Of course, he could be referring to Rebecca, but methinks she’s not quite a comrade to all of Axe Cap.

    Whatever the case may be, Wags, who I’ve always seen as sort of useless comic relief, won me over that scene when he pays her the best compliment ever “the only woman I’ve ever enjoyed drinking with.” LOVE that!

    1. Thank you for reading!

      Hmmm… this is a very interesting take. You are right Victor only said “someone close to you” or something like that without naming the person he was talking about. I assumed it would be Rebecca since he was talking about the toxic debt that Saler’s had… but who knows? Do you have an idea how Saler’s toxic debt could be related to Wendy in some way? And you are right it seems obvious that Taylor’s share of the pie will absorb the debt — but it is also showing us that Taylor was wrong thinking the war will be over. Rebecca will not be a shield protecting their business. Axe goes for war over love – as usual. Who knows though he may change his mind but… I doubt it! There can be some serious “bloodshed” in the season finale.

      Yep, Wags was LOVELY and Dollar Bill and especially that Brogan who talked about female doctors…. Ewwwwwwww!!!!!!!

      I will add a link for polk salad! Yes, I think it means food for poor people – blue blood NYer Senior overlooking the Texan!

    2. I know Polk Salad is one spelling, but down here it’s generallly Poke Salad. Made from Pokeweed.

      1. Thank you! I had no idea about it. And does it mean food for poor in general? That has been our interpretation from Chuck Senior’s words?

        1. Yeah, it’s basically a weed you have to boil a couple of times to get the poison out before you eat it. It’s like spinach. But poisonous unless cooked right. Rich in Vit C, and usually the first edible green to come up in the spring. Any Southerner would know about this, especially if from a poor background. Here’s some info. https://delishably.com/vegetable-dishes/Poke-Sallet-Poke-Salad-Recipe-How-to-Handle-Harvest-and-Prepare-the-Poisonous-Pokeweed

  2. Also, the “idiot’ in the next room that Jock was bluffing about was Krakow, right? Thus Senior knowing that Jock couldn’t possibly have him, seeing as he’s the Secretary of the Treasury. Connerty heard “idiot” on the recording before he had to switch it off, so he doesn’t know who it is either. Just wanted Jock to bluff as if they do know.

    1. No. They already knew Krakow was in the room because they heard the conversation — but not the bribe part since Krakow was using sign language. Krakow was there to provide a sweet loan deal for Chuck Senior through Qatar State Bank. Chuck Senior had already got his land rights for “Elysian Fields” from this mysterious “idiot.” We don’t know who he is but we know Chuck Sr told about him to Ira, his lawyer, and so they had to lock that part of the conversation. Bryan will now unlock it and learn about the idiot with Jeffcoat’s permission.

  3. So much sexism and misogyny this episode! From Brogan’s joke about female doctors to Bill’s analogy to hookers and pimps. To Axe basically saying that Wendy will always need him. Geez.

    For some reason, I think Hall got to that safe first and planted evidence he wanted Connerty to find. Idk. I just don’t think Connerty and his brother could get that lucky. Also, how stupid is Connerty for accompanying his brother to a safe cracking mission? Is he trying to lose his license?

    I don’t know if Axe feels betrayed or like a fool for backing Rebecca against the advice of his entire staff. Maybe that’s why he’s willing to use her as cannon fodder? Remember he loves doing that to the women in his life. I see him having no problem doing to Rebecca what Taylor couldn’t with their dad. I hope it backfires on him but who knows?

    I can see Chuck moving on from Wendy. I said a few episodes ago that he seemed to be emotionally checked out. It’s weird that he sees Ira a source of inspiration for a new life since we know Ira’s new wife is a gold digger who doesn’t even love him. But whatever. Maybe Chuck is tired of the fighting and awkwardness.

    1. Thank you for reading!

      Geez indeed. I live in a bubble where I see no such thing as sexism but it is a reality.

      So you think Hall was there before the Connerty brothers, maybe planted a camera, and now can implicate them? Ha! That would be awesome. Honestly, I thought Hall was there later – as we saw it – and could not figure out if he knew someone was there, or because they apologized for the mess earlier, he did not even understand that the painting was hung improperly as Senior and Roxanne were messing around 🙂 Who knows maybe the cufflinks had a bug in them or something… For some reason I think we will get to see them again!

      Loyalty is everything for Bobby Axelrod. After Rebecca has cut a deal with Taylor (and I don’t think she did it only for their relationship but more for her company — but still she saved Axe from a professional suicide) I am not sure if Axe values her as much as he used to. I think Rebecca could be collateral damage in the end. Who knows Axe may change his mind and let it go but I doubt it.

      I have the exact same feeling about Chuck. Telling Wendy he did not remember the moment he knew he had to marry her, telling Axe in this episode Wendy might be better off without them, and yes inspired by Ira’s new beginning that people can do it. I hope we are wrong but it seems Chuck is in a “new beginnings” state of mind.

  4. Thank you for your informative and detailed recap. It is very helpful to read in order to see clearer some points that could easily slipped away from the attention of the non-American viewers.

    “Lamster”, “Bill Belichik”, “Pimp101”, etc. “D.B.Cooper” is familiar to me thanks to the US series Prison Break. “Carencia” Jock explained to Brian himself with this typical caustic glance of his, when he needs to explain the elementary and well known (to him) facts of life. Young Brian looks once again definitely out of Jock’s league.

    But with Rhoades Sr. the situation is different. I love this juicy scene when these two old school’s heavy weights are confronting each other for the first time in person. In this less favourable circumstances for him the Senior (wrinkled ass or not) demonstrates to Jock both guts and brains, the US AG didn’t expect him to be capable to show. Well, tall and big Jock could belong to the old Texas school, but more subtle “old money” and “Ivy League” Rhoades Sr. belongs to the NY “Social Register” (if it still existed) for God’s sake! Just like the patrician WASP Humphrey DeForest Bogart – son of Dr. Belmont DeForest Bogart. For sure, this fact is well known to the “bookish” Yale graduate Chuck, who was visibly pleased  by Axe’s mention of Philip Marlowe and his own comparison with Bogie.

    Chuck/Wendy bond looks rather broken. The former confidence that each of them would sacrifice for the other has faded. Some things in life have the irreversible character. At the E12/S03 Chuck was set up and was stripped-down not only with loss of his US Attorney position, but also by the underestimation of both his enemies and “friends”. He of all people with his Machiavellian skills did not see it coming! Chuck needed to restore his status and his self-respect while being thrown down into the gutter (well, from the rich comfortable legal office/gutter, but still). He has already paid his price for his mistakes and sly methods, but Wendy’s turn was coming. Her pure egotistic behaviour in relation to Chuck brought its punishment. Moreover, although she accepts the loss her medical licence, she can’t reconcile with both Chuck’s indifference and proposed solution of her problem. Wendy’s dominance over Chuck seems almost over. The cow knows not what her tail is worth until she has lost it. But with this show the main motto is: “never say never” 

    I don’t think that Axe/Rebecca relationships will last. As the old Bruno wisely said “friendship must be kept clean”. For love, it will do even more. Money brings the growing toxic note in their feelings. Besides, cold rational brains of Rebecca could see the impediments of Axe’s involvement in her business – despite of all his possibilities and billions. She is definitely getting tired to be a battlefield between Axe and Taylor and whomever Axe can be enemy with. Besides, Rebecca is a self-made rich woman, too smart and too independent for Axe. He could teach Lara a lesson how to elaborate a decent business proposal, but with Rebecca it won’t be both necessary and appreciate.

    1. Thank you for reading!

      I agree 100% with you about everything you say in your comment.

      Chuck Senior and Jock Jeffcoat scene. Heavyweights indeed. Hope they get to see each other more. Your observations are wonderful — both about their confrontation and the Bogie reference.

      Chuck seems to be emotionally checking out of the marriage. Slowly but almost surely. Last week he did not know why he decided to marry Wendy, this week he told Axe Wendy might be better off without them and then he looked inspired by Ira’s new life. Wendy’s dominance in the marriage is over, and yes she can’t reconcile with the fact that he did not kill for her. But yes who knows they may still end up staying together. I give them a much bigger chance to stay together than Axe and Rebecca. Rebecca is almost a male version of Axe — with some emotions — yes, too smart and too independent for Axe. He is rather macho in his relationships, I feel, it disturbed me so much when he asked her what color car he wanted earlier in the season. His tone turned me off. It came across too possessive for me to take… It would be a fun finale scene to have Axe and Chuck drowning their sorrows over lost relationships in alcohol.

      1. Thank you very much for your kind words!
        I still cannot figure out why Axe – this financial genius and brilliant Magister Ludi – of all people is so eager to get young Taylor down by knockout (courtesy of Chuck) than to get a noble victory by points? Where the hell his glorious mastery if he can’t win against his own pupil on his own financial battlefield without Chuck`s State AG methods? It is behavior of sissy in my book.

  5. Lamster is a silly word. Non existant in my book. But is derived from ” being on the lam” which wuz in the old movies. Maybe 1940s vintage. ” being on the lam” meaning on the run from the law, from the authorities.

    1. In The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, J.E. Lighter defines the term as prison lingo for ”an act of running or flight, esp. a dash to escape from custody.” In his 1886 ”30 Years a Detective,” Allan Pinkerton, the first ”private eye,” explains an operation of pickpockets: ”After he secures the wallet, he will utter the word ‘lam!’ This means to let the man go and to get out of the way as soon as possible.” Lighter cites do a lam, make a lam and take a lam early in this century, finally emerging as the passive state of being on the lam.
      Lighter speculates that it may be rooted in the dialect Scandinavian verb lam, as in the 1525 ”his wife sore lamming him,” meaning ”to beat, pound or strike.” Then possibly a new meaning evolved out of the verb: in order to not get lammed, one goes on the lam.
      In any case this show always wonders me how damn intelligent are its creators.

  6. Love reading your work. It’s great to see some of the nuances I missed and have the outbound links. Thanks!

  7. Great recap as usual! I will say that I was 50/50 in the references this week, so I thank you once again for all the links you provide for the ones I don’t know!

    You did call it on Wendy! You knew she’d do the right thing (and I’m glad she did as well). She owns her shit, and that is what makes her a strong woman. It took a lot of guts to to what she did, but as a Black Sabbath song :”you have to let your body sleep to let your soul live on”. It’s not an exactly what happened, but I think you get what I mean.

    Do you also get the feeling she may be getting tired of being knee deep with her “boys” that have no concept of right and wrong? Or at least if they do, they just don’t care? She seemed so exasperated with Axe in that one scene. Who knew Wags would be the voice of reason!

    Axe is laser focused on revenge, and I don’t think he will care who gets hurt in the process. Collateral damage in war is part of the calculation, and I think Rebecca will be part of that. I think that is a shame, since I did love the fact that a smart, tough business woman was a main character for most of this season. It was refreshing instead of seeing the usual cold bitch, which is how so many shows characterize women on Wall Street.

    1. Thank you for reading!

      I am so happy Wendy did what she did. She lost her way this season and ended up not being able to recognize her life, her marriage, and herself. And now she made this ballsy move and my Wendy is BACK! I agree with you that she is getting tired of her “lost boys” who basically made her come to this point. She was involved in Ice Juice thanks to them and then everything went downhill for her. And I think she was right when she sort of told Axe him saying not listening does not mean not valuing was bullshit. When Axe says “we’re built differently” I think he sees some weakness in Wendy — I believe he still values her but he believes in himself — The Sun God — more than anything else. Good luck with that.

      Yep, I think he is so into his revenge that he will accept any collateral damage that comes with it. I also think that means his relationship with Rebecca will go down the toilet. I would not be surprised if we had Axe and Chuck in the last scene drinking together alone… instead of that double date a few episodes ago!

  8. Well, I am eager for the finale, not because it will end season 4, but out of sheer curiosity. Haven’t commented for awhile, mainly because I have not been as thrilled with this season as the 3 previous. Last week’s cuddle nonsense with Wags seemed just outright silly to me. As I have mentioned before, Chuck and Wendy are so nasty to each other that I can’t image that marriage getting back on track. Also much preferred Axe as a family man, also what I have said before. The relationship between Chuck and Charles Sr. in this season is completely contradictory to the time when Sr. said he was “done with Chuck.” Quite a reversal when you view this episode’s run in with Jock. Now you all know why I haven’t posted; am not usually a negative person BUT, despite all of the above comments, I liked epi 11 much, much more than the previous ones. Only a few more days till we see how all this shakes out, although I expect it will keep us hanging in anticipation for season 5.
    Oh, and thanks to you who put up the clips from Damian with Kelly and Ryan. I had my DVR set but also ready to watch it live and my channel cut out for coverage of Trump and May in London….bummer!

    1. Thank you for reading, Connie! I think the characters in the show are so calculating that coalitions and relationships shift in the blink of an eye — everyone looks out for his/her interests! And I love it that you liked episode 11 – I thought it was fantastic and built carefully towards the probably extremely explosive season finale!

      You are very welcome for posting the clips from Kelly and Ryan. I missed the program, too; can you guess why? I will hopefully write a post about it next week – a FUNNY story! I find Damian the FAN phenomenal — how much he adores his beloved Liverpool and as a Liverpool fan since I was a little girl, I identify with it, and love it! 🙂 Yep, Trump and May instead of a certain ginger on TV could not be fun! So glad you could see the clips later. Cheers!

  9. One thing that kept coming up is how Chuck Sr. does not have cameras in his expensive place. Seriously? It feels like Connerty will get slaughtered for his hypocrisy. Breaking and entering a private citizen’s place and soliciting another to break into a private safe without a warrant. In his mind, he took Chuck down for going to the dark side, but he fell into the same trap once he assumed the throne. I am a bit puzzled by this whole meeting with the Chucks and Krakow and Ira. I have to believe this is staged. Oh well, I guess we will find out soon enough. Honestly, Axe’s thirst for revenge against Taylor seems too much, he does exist to make money after all.

    1. Thank you for reading! I assume, since the FBI planted the bug, they also looked out for possible cameras in the place. He has a security alarm in the apartment, so I am not sure if he definitely needs cameras. Besides, given what he does in the apartment with other women, he may not want a camera in the house 😀

      That said, i think Bryan has done what Chuck may have done under the same circumstances — it is just that Chuck himself would not have gone there, but he would have sent someone. We have just witnessed, once he occupies the US attorney seat, Bryan has got as ruthless as Chuck in a relatively short period of time! I think it may be “the cufflinks” that could get Bryan into trouble — if not this season maybe next…

      Re the meeting with Krakow: Why do you think it’s staged. They had the meeting to negotiate the conditions under which Krakow could still keep Chuck Sr’s sweet deal with the Qatar State Bank going — because the bank needs to go back to the restricted list and the Rhoadeses want Senior to keep his low interest loan with the bank. And Krakow said because now he is taking a risk he needs to be paid by Chuck Senior. I don’t think it’s staged. If you explain further the part you are puzzled with, I may help a bit more.

      I think, regarding Axe, Wendy’s diagnosis is spot on. He NEEDS an enemy to have his drive. And, besides, I think he wants to make an example of Taylor — if you leave Axe without he is blessing, you will be f***** no matter what and at whatever cost to Axe.

      Looking forward to the finale!

  10. I just went back and rewatched epi 1, season 1, the pilot. It was almost an entirely different show than what we have been looking at this season. Don’t recall any of those distracting references (cultural or social or whatever, i.e. sports, music, movies. etc.). It was easy to follow, never made me work to catch up, and I don’t put on the TV to work my brain, I put it on to relax and be entertained, primarily by the Ginger One of course. Just a few thoughts.

  11. Did everyone follow the flag pin Chuck gave to Sacher? It ended up on Brian’s jacket and was in the vicinity of all of Jock’s conversations with Charles Rhodes and Brian. Looks like the bugging of Charles and Chuck wasn’t the only bugging going on. Jock is f____’d

    1. Are you sure that the flag pin ended up on Bryan’s jacket? Did Kate put it there? I thought he always wore one on his jacket. Did Kate replace Bryan’s pin with the one Chuck gave him? If that happened, then WOW! I guess we’ll find out the answer shortly!

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